On Wednesday, Oct. 8, Philadelphia’s three city commissioners met to discuss the upcoming Nov. 4 elections. Nearing the end of the agenda, Commissioner Stephanie Singer brought up details for an idea that was approved a week before — publishing an English and Spanish voter information handbook. However, the commissioners weren’t settled on the matter of using place plain-language sections and replace with legal jargon from the website

“I believe it is very important to have plain language material for all of our voters who maybe don’t have a college education or a high school education,” Singer said before turning towards fellow commissioners Al Schmidt and Anthony Clark to request their support for a plain-language translation in both English and Spanish. Although he questioned the plain-language initiative, Schmidt agreed to print the guides if voters or community organizations made reasonable requests for them. Clark expressed skepticism at printing the handbook, arguing that, “it’s better to spend our budget wisely.”

Singer reported that the translation would cost $700, and volunteered to finance the endeavor herself. The commissioners’ offices would print the guides upon request in their City Hall offices.

Rosalind López came out to the meeting in support of the guide. She had been looking to publish some resources for voters in her Kensington community. When López approached Singer’s office, she discovered that the commissioner had already put the plan of a plain-English guide into action.

“It’s in plain English so even a fifth-grader can understand it, especially if they have an adult parent who didn’t go to school and can’t read properly,” López said, adding that she is looking to target youth who may have unanswered questions when it comes to voting, like how to register or when and where to vote.

The voter guide would be Philadelphia’s first to be printed in Spanish.